Setting up WordPress Website on Windows Server 2022 with IIS

For organizations already invested in Microsoft technologies, hosting WordPress on Windows Server 2022 with IIS is a natural choice. Leveraging Windows Server 2022 with IIS for your WordPress site allows you to create a secure, scalable, and high-performing environment tailored to your business needs. This step-by-step guide will show you how to seamlessly integrate WordPress with Microsoft’s powerful server infrastructure, ensuring a smooth and efficient setup process that maximizes the strengths of both platforms.

Objective:

By following this guide, you’ll have a fully functional WordPress site on your windows server 2022. Whether you’re an experienced IT professional or a beginner, this guide will help you get your WordPress site set up and running smoothly.

Prerequisites:

A Windows Server 2022 machine with administrative access.
MySQL Installer
PhP (Non Thread Safe version)
Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable
WordPress

Step-by-Step Solution:

Step 1: Installing IIS and required tools.

Open Server Manager and select Manage > Add Roles and Features.

add-roles-and-features

In the Add Roles and Features Wizard, select Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next.
In the Roles section, select Web Server (IIS) and click Next.

iis

In the Role Services section, ensure the following services are selected:

cgi

iis-services

Click Next, then Install.
Verify the Installation by visiting localhost, you will see the following default page of IIS.

iis-installed

Step 2: Install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Version

Download the latest version of Microsoft Visual C++ from here.

visual-c++

Applications that are built using Microsoft C and C++ tools require Visual C++.
For WordPress, it is required by various dependencies, including PHP extensions, database servers, and web server components to function properly.

Step 3: Install PHP

Download the latest Non-Thread Safe PHP version from here.
Extract the downloaded ZIP file to C:\php
Add C:\PHP to the system’s PATH environment variable.
Right-click This PC > Properties > Advanced system settings.
Click Environment Variables, then find the path variable in the system variables section and click Edit.
Click New and add C:\php.

php

Rename the php.ini-production file name to php.ini

Step 4: Configure PHP for WordPress

Open C:\php\php.ini file in a text editor.
Uncomment and change the following values:

cgi.force_redirect = 0
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 1
fastcgi.impersonate = 1
fastcgi.logging = 0
extension=mysqli
extension=pdo_mysql

Step 5: Configure IIS for PHP

A) Handler Mapping:

Open IIS Manager.
Select your server in the left panel.
Double-click Handler Mappings.
Click Add Module Mapping in the Actions pane.
Set the Request Path to *.php, Module to FastCgiModule, Executable to C:\php\php-cgi.exe, and any Name to it.

handler-mappings

B) Default Document:

Click on the Default Documents option.
Add default.php and index.php

default-document

Step 6: Create and configure the IIS Application Pool

A) Creating a new Application Pool

Right-click on the “Application Pools”
Click on the “Add Application Pool” window.

application-pool

B) Configure the Application Pool

In the “Application Pools” list, find the newly created application pool WordPress.
Right-click on it and select “Set Application Pool Defaults”
Click on the ApplicationPoolIdentity > Custom Account > Set credentials > Provide the Username and Password of the Administrator.

application-pool-user

C) Change Application Pool for Default Web Site

Click on Default Web Site.
Right-click on the Basic Setting under Edit Site at the extreme right.
Select the Application Pool that we created earlier i.e. WordPress.

default-application-pool

Step 7: Install MySQL

Download the MySQL Installer from here.
Run the installer and choose the Server and Workbench option.
Follow the prompts to complete the installation, and set a root password when prompted.
Once installed, open the MySQL Workbench create a database for WordPress, and grant all privileges to the root user.

Note:

You can use the mysql cli commands to create the database.
You can create a new user for WordPress, however I will be using the root user only.

Step 8: Download and Configure WordPress